April 27

Bring your overgrown lilacs,forsythia, and other spring flowering shrubs down to size while maintaining their natural beauty and spring floral display.

Bring your overgrown lilacs,
forsythia, and other spring flowering shrubs down to size while maintaining
their natural beauty and spring floral display.

Prune spring blooming shrubs
right after flowering. These shrubs set
their flower buds in summer and pruning any other time will eliminate the all
important spring floral display.

You'll need safety glasses to
protect your eyes and gloves. Use bypass pruners that make a clean cut that
closes quickly. Cut small stems inch
diameter or less with hand pruners. Use
loppers to extend your reach and cut slightly bigger stems and a pruning saw
for the rest.

Start by removing any crossed
or dead branches. Then remove a few of
the larger stems, on suckering shrubs, right back to ground level. Reduce the height on the remaining stems as
needed. Make your cut on a slight angle
above an outward facing bud or stem.